With Friends Like Elon Musk, Who Needs a ‘Hostile Rival’?

Matt Taibbi, one of the independent journalists handpicked by Elon Musk to research and report the “Twitter Files,” on Friday said he was leaving the social media platform, “I guess,” after being caught in the middle of its feud with Substack.

The recent introduction of Substack Notes – a short-form blogging platform – apparently ruffled feathers at Twitter, which now considers Substack a “hostile rival,” Taibbi wrote in an email to his subscribers, according to Mediaite.

Twitter also blocked Mastodon and other potential rivals from posting live links on its platform. Substack hosts hundreds of writers and editors who require social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to share their content beyond their subscriber bases.

Taibbi said in a Substack chat that Twitter is now “unusable” for him, and that Musk did not respond to his questions about the move, Mashable’s Matt Binder reported. Taibbi wrote Friday on Substack under the heading “The Craziest Friday Ever … On staying at Substack, and leaving Twitter, I guess.”

I discovered that Twitter was blocking Substack links earlier this afternoon. Because I use Twitter to share my articles, I was concerned and inquired about the situation.

Twitter was upset by Substack Notes’ new feature. They see it as a threat to their business. When I asked Substack how I was supposed market my work I was told that I could post my articles to Twitter.

Taibbi wrote Friday on his Substack “Racket“:

“Not much suspense there; I’m staying at Substack. You’ve all been great to me, as has the management of this company. Beginning early next week I’ll be using the new Substack Notes feature (to which you’ll all have access) instead of Twitter, a decision that apparently will come with a price as far as any future Twitter Files reports are concerned. It was absolutely worth it and I’ll always be grateful to those who gave me the chance to work on that story, but man is this a crazy planet.”

More to come …

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